LA Library, 1960: Gun-toting child reads bunny book

Wrapped in Thought: Four-year-old Philip Ross finds ABC Easter Bunny more interesting than his guns and spurs. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Max Ross, 12605 Califa St., North Hollywood, he said he can't read but 'didn't mind looking at pictures.' Librarians at North Hollywood branch library said he is a frequent visitor."

Contributed to the Boing Boing Flickr Pool by Bart King. Captions invited. Also, wonder where this child (who'd now be an adult) is today!

billstewart

Back in those days we had cap guns as kids, before both the political correctness police and the paranoid-about-dangerous-things-that-aren’t-really-dangerous police got rid of them.
- grimc
  
  I dunno. Cap guns became pretty damn realistic in the decades since that photo was taken. And it was police organizations that demanded something be done about it, not “political correctness”. I won’t begrudge cops asking to not be put in situations where they might shoot a kid.
kmoser

Er, the book seems to be titled “The ABC Rabbit”, not “ABC Easter Rabbit.”
8eyesphoto

Looks like Glenn Beck
Stefan Jones

Why include the family’s street address? By today’s terms that looks vaguely dangerous.
- Anonymous
  
  Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I couldn’t help myself though and Google Mapped the address. There’s still a little house there.
game0ver

I recently made a video from footage of childrens’ adverts for guns. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhGqB0dLBy4

The adverts for girls’ toys are even more disturbing.
Utenzil

A is for ammo, B is for bunny… yes… C is for Catch… yes… yes.. D is for Dead… hmmnsnnn … E is for… E is for EAT!!!
HatOfEdshu

What a little sweetie! I wonder where he’s serving time.
eaglescout1984

He’s got a gun because he’s a cowboy. If I’m worried about anything, it’s the way he was raised thinking it’s okay to subjugate Native Americans, aka “Injuns” not the gun itself.
dr

Wow – very close to being me. Same age, same father’s name, same toy gun. However, my name isn’t Philip.
Anonymous

“thems fight’n blurbs!”
Anonymous

Don’t bother me…I’m weading!
Crashproof

He looks like he’s about to pursue a vendetta against a bunny, and is researching his nemesis.
Anonymous

A hunter must get inside da wabbit’s head.
Anonymous

And he’s wearing tap shoes! How cute!
- jocoska
  
  hilarious
Teller

I think taps are due for a comeback.
Factran

Captionned. http://i.imgur.com/57aj0.jpg
Anonymous

A young Elmer Fudd Cements his hatred of the fuzzy creatures when he finds out, onece and for all, that “rabbits” do not start with the letter “W”
sean

Touch my bunny book and I’ll blow yer head off.
punterjoe

No offense to Mr Ross, but I’d demand a blood test.
By the look in that little boy’s eyes, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out that his REAL dad was Elmer Fudd.
- d15724c710n
  
  kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit, kill the WABBIT, kill the wabbit!
Anonymous

“Noise in the library is punishable by gunshot. This has been your only warning.”
Anonymous

“Full metal jacket, joker.”
zuludaddy

Are those taps on his shoes? Too much cognitive dissonance in this pic – brain getting ‘splodey…
- Gilbert Wham
  
  Nah, they’re what were (and probably still are) what we in englandland called ‘segs’ or ‘blakeys’. You hammer them into the soles of leather-soled shoes to stop the heel & toe wearing down so fast. Or, if you’re a small child, you do it so as to be able to scrape your feet along the pavement and produce a shower of sparks.
- alexv
  
  in those days, people put taps on shoes to help the soles from wearing out. the taps wear out first and then you replace them.
  - Antinous / Moderator
    
    Or, the kid was a huge Ruby Keeler fan.
Anonymous

“Kill the wabbit!”
Anonymous

“I’ll paint your Easter Egg…”
adamnvillani

It used to be common practice to include street addresses in the newspapers. It always throws me when I see an old clipping, but that’s what they did, even with kids.

I don’t really know when they stopped… late 60s? I can’t imagine nobody pointed out that it was potentially a pretty bad idea.
moregrey

You talkin’ to me? Cuz I’m the only one here….
tyger11

He’s may be only four years old, but he’s already shooting at a third-grade level.
- Nash Rambler
  
  Winner! Your comment brought the most tears of laughter to my eyes.
simplify

His shoes brought back a flood of memories, because those are Thomas heels–which I had to have on my shoes too. I am amazed to have remembered the name (testament to the trauma of having to wear different shoes from all the other kids). I googled “Thomas Heel”, and was shocked to learn that they are still made! And yes, the metal pieces are wear-preventers. These shoes were expensive.
Slightly Askew

Also, wonder where this child (who’d now be an adult) is today!

There is a Philip H Ross in Santa Monica that is in the right age bracket. Worth a shot, if you’re curious enough.
Anonymous

I had a cowboy hat and six-shooter cap gun when I was a little boy, too. I wore it quite a bit, even to “story time” at our local library. My mother still happily recounts the time when, apparently bored with the story lady, I stood up, shot her with the cap gun and calmly walked out. Subtlety has never been my fortÃ©.
Lolotehe

The first thing that entered my head was the theme from “The Bad Seed”.

I think it’s the shoes.